Tough Enough

When I had to think of a topic for a cartoon, I wanted it to represent me and how I feel: This is my cartoon
In this cartoon I try to represent something that sooner or later we are all confronted with: that is independence.
As this is our last year at college, I wanted to portray the fears and insecurities that we all feel now that we are about to step into adult life.
Once we get our degree, the first thing we need to do is to get a job. Even though most of us already work, supporting ourselves is by far a differet thing. Luckily for English teachers job opportunities abound. We might be offered jobs in private institutes, schools, even our houses can be places of work. However working conditions vary, and there are many people out there who might want to benefit from both our capacities and inexperience. I have to confess that the name "tough enough" came up rather naturally. I quite often find myself saying that.

As regards the experience of being a cartooninst, I really enjoyed. The idea came up almost immediately, the dialogues though, were more difficult. I guess that it is because we are always so concerned about our writings, finding synonyms or fancy words that when it comes to simple language we just have to think twice as much!

What´s in a word?

As master Shakespeare puts it in his lyrical tale "Romeo & Juliet" :


"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."



What´s in a name if not an arbitrary concept? I can´t help wondering why some words are regarded as “just ugly” and others are “simply lovely". Quite often you avoid buying something or refuse to eat something because of its name, think of “guacamole" and "kidney pie" . First, let see what a word is. According to the Merriam Webster´s dictionary a word is "a speech sound or series of speech sounds that symbolizes and communicates a meaning usually without being divisible into smaller units capable of independent use" .

One feature that might make a work ugly or nice it’s the sound. Not because one sound is better than another but what they connote can be more or less pleasant for our ears. If I think about the word "guacamole" I cannot help thinking about disgusting things such as gush or gob.
And that is due to the / g / at the beginning.

Another feature which can contribute to a word´s "appeal” might be its cultural or historical background. For instance, "Nazi" or even "che". The former gave a name to a political party, however the horror of its ruling over Germany rendered it almost an insult. The latter, a word which is so popular in our country, can connote revolutionary feelings for other people .In a country like Venezuela can be considered heroic. I wonder what connotations it might have in Belgium.

Finally, I will focus on the length of words.

• God, faith, love, mum, foe, hate.
• Circumlocution, anniversary, onomatopoeia, characteristics, facilities, observation.

Let´s take the first words of each group. God has three graphemes while circumlocution has fourteen. What a difference! Let alone some of us do not even know the meaning of circumlocution. On the other hand, we are all well acquainted with God.
No matter how long or short words are the best way to express ideas and thought. Human are the only blessed creatures that have this gift. I´ve found some gifted people...read:

Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.
Mother Teresa

Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with deeper meaning.
Maya Angelou

Action speaks louder than words but not nearly as often.
Mark Twain

The words of truth are always paradoxical.
Lao Tzu

You can stroke people with words.
F. Scott Fitzgerald

Song of himself

I celebrate myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.
I loafe and invite my soul,
I lean and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer grass.
My tongue, every atom of my blood, form'd from this soil, this air,
Born here of parents born here from parents the same, and their parents the same,
I, now thirty-seven years old in perfect health begin,
Hoping to cease not till death.
Creeds and schools in abeyance,
Retiring back a while sufficed at what they are, but never forgotten,
I harbor for good or bad, I permit to speak at every hazard,
Nature without check with original energy.

This is the first stanza of Song of Myself, the first poem of "Leaves of Grass", the collection of poems by Walt Withman.
This American author is my favourite one . He was not only a poet, and that is not a minor detail, since he worked as a journalist and fiction writer for many years before he became one the most famous poets of American literature.
Walt Withman was born in 1819 thirty years after George Washington became the first president of the United States. In a way, Walt’s character was influenced by American spirit of freedom patriotism and opportunities. This certainly contributed to what later came to be his masterpiece.
As mentioned before, Walt Withman started his career as a poet late in his life while most of the romantic poets he looked up to such as Wordsworth, Coleridge, Keats and Byron had done their most important works by their thirties.
The following verses considered, as many others, autobiographical expose this fact.
“I, now thirty-seven years old in perfect health begin,
Hoping to cease not till death”.

We are all addict!

It seems that people living in this century can´t get away without an addiction, and that is because these addictions are commonly accepted practices which have gone to extremes.
According to Neus Colomer, professor at University of Barcelona, 21st century addictions are to be found everywhere. And the laymen are the ones to suffer from them. You may be asking yourself: what are 21st century addictions?
Paying too much attention to your appearance, over cleaning your house, feeling wrath, buying compulsively, among others are hints of abnormal behaviour.
Psychologist Colomer outlines the fact that these addictions may be unnoticed, which doesn´t mean they are not harmful for those who suffer from them. We tend to regard alcohol, drugs and gambling as the most pernicious conduct, although this is undeniable the new addictions may pose an emotional, interpersonal and economical danger.
Though common nowadays, workaholics are considered addicts. They not only work a lot but also create bonds with people at work, and their lives and family life depend on that job. These people are incapable of communicating, thinking or living outside of this vicious circle that their career has turned into. Imagine some of the consequences of this “addiction”: no family or friends, divorce, health problems just to name a few.
Another peculiar addiction is that related to the cleaning of your house. Psychologist Colomer believes that people who suffer from this addiction think others judge them both personally and professionally according to the place they live or work in. This addiction is particularly related to that of having always the best appearance. Most people nowadays buy clothes compulsively and not only this, they even resort to plastic surgery in order to have the perfect figure, or face.
Most worrying of all is the addiction to wrath. Probably due to a communication problem, wrath is extremely common. People react violently with almost no reason. How many times have you sworn in a supermarket queue? Or reacted badly to a criticism?
We are getting less and less polite and we are also being slowly and unconsciously dragged to some of these new “addictions”. So watch out you might soon became and addict!

I now pronounce you

In the past months, the same issue has prevailed on the first pages of the newspapers and in the news: The gay marriage law. And after such a long debate, after trying to figure out this new reality in our country I still find it difficult to answer myself the question : Is this right? 54


The struggle for the legalization of homosexual marriage is a very resent one , however it has reached parliment and raised a controversy as regards the rights and obligations gay couples are now granted , on top of the list being the right to adopt a child. People against the new law have exposed their arguments basing themselves in religious beliefs, values and morals.
They would claim that children have the right to mother and a father, probably without thinking about the countless number of children who grow up in "non traditional" households.
Another arguments was the influence homosexual parents may have on their children´s sexuality. I can´t help wondering : Why are there so many gay people who were brought up by heterosexual couples?175
Among these trains of thought appeared the most despicable hypothesis. A bizarre idea that gay couples might adopt a child in order to subject him or her to sexual abuse.
The truth is that this law has come to contemplate behaviours that have been taking place since decades ago. And, though accused of hypocritical, a part of sopciety is still reluctant to accept this fact. 240

On the other hand, no matter how open minded we might be, for some of us same-sex marriage is still shocking. Its not because we do not respect their rights, is that having been raised in "traditional " families, our schema is not ready to put up with such a new reality. Luckily for us, the new generations will surely accept this sitation as commonplace. Society needs time to analize the real step we have just made as a nation.319
The world press published this 14th july : "Gay marriage law : Argentina is the First Latin American Country to Approve Same-sex Marriage".
On the world´s eyes, we seem a nation which is paving the way to a most just and egalitarian society. In my persoanl view , we still have a long way to go. Health and education systems need to be improved. People in the government have to look after EVERY CITIZEN´S RIGHTS. 391

In conclusion, I´d like to quote senator Norma Morandini:

""What defines us is our humanity, and what runs against humanity is intolerance"

I do believe in tolerance and respect as the basis of our society.

Actions speak louder than words

Proper social behaviour is ideally learned at home, at early stages in one´s life and these rules are to be followed and respected throuout it. Unfortunately, sociologists and psychologists in our country are more and more insistent on the lack of values experimented by modern societies.

But when have we become so disrespectful?

It seems that we have completely lost the respect for both common property and other´s rights.
People puffing away in train or bus stations have become commonplace situations and whenever a brave defender of civil law dares speak to them, they recieve scornful and even violent responses. Eventually, these people get away with their wilful behaviour.

Our parks and streets are scattered with litter and although the government may provide some cleaning service, we do not contribute with it. People still drop their waste, chewing gum, cigarette butts , probably thinking " I will not make any difference".

Clearly, here is where the big problem lies. No matter if you are a child, a teenager or an adult; reminders are always necessary. Society is asking for a change. Rules need to be obeyed and authority respected. Social and moral values are in crisis. Society has moved from too strickt to too light rules. We need to strike a balance between our rights and other´s. Moreover, we also have realize that our responsibility and respect may move mountains and make other people change as well.

Return to Paradise

I do not consider myself a critic. I read because I like to. I wanted to share a piece of my mind about a short story. "Return to paradise" by Eliza Riley.

Looking forward to get inspired I decided to read another short story,which by the way I tend to like. I thought of romance, and this is what I got.
A nicely described picture of a beach, a woman in a dress, wind blowing, blue sea and a man staring at her. A marriage, a nasty episode, an attempt of divorce and as usual reconciliation.
Do all women enjoy this? Drama ,drama ,drama.
This story is so corny and revealing. No mistery, do not even dare ask for an unexpected end.